


Force it Down

by Dontknowmyname



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Caretaker Dean Winchester, Gen, Hurt Sam Winchester, Sam Winchester Whump, The Trials
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23709754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dontknowmyname/pseuds/Dontknowmyname
Summary: Sam’s fever becomes dangerously high and Dean rushes back to do what he does best. (Tag to 8.22)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 66





	Force it Down

Sam was deteriorating quickly and Dean had no idea what to do, especially when Sam didn’t want anything to be done. Sam’s willingness to rest while Dean visited the tourist spot did nothing to ease his concern. In fact it did the exact opposite. So when his phone rang, he answered it immediately, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. 

“Sam?” He hoped for a snarky reply, hell he would have been happy with a moan or a cough. Any sign of life would do, but all he gets is silence. Unless you count the phone crashing to the ground and what Dean can only assume is a body, Sam’s body, following it. 

He pushed his foot down harder on the gas, swerving the car as the tires fought for traction. Luckily he was only a few minutes away, but he still managed to cut the time in half. Dean barely made it into the parking lot before the car was in park and he was racing up the steps toward their room. 

As soon as he reached their hallway he began calling Sam’s name. Holding on to that hope that his brother would pop out and tell Dean to shut the hell up. He never did. Sam remained completely still on the floor in front of their beds, paler than the sheets. 

“Sammy!” He fell to the floor beside Sam, instantly reaching out to brush the hair out of his brother’s face. Dean pulled his hand back for a second, shocked by the heat radiating off his brother. Sam had definitely not been a human furnace when he left their room earlier. 

Dean slapped his hand across Sam’s ashen cheeks, once lightly and then again with a bit more force. He watched as Sam’s eyelids fluttered a bit until glassy eyes met Dean’s without actually seeing him at all. 

“Hey bud,” he smiled, both hands holding Sam’s face, “you with me?”

“De?” Sam tried to focus on Dean, his hand clumsily reaching out to grab a hold of something. “Sorry.” 

“What?” Dean lifted Sam’s upper body, thankful for what little help Sam was able to offer as he dragged his brother toward the bed. “What are you sorry for, Man?” 

He managed to get Sam into bed without knocking anything over or pulling any muscles. It was no surprise when Sam collapsed like a pile of bones onto the bed. His eyelids were blinking much slower now and Dean noticed the tremors getting worse. The fever wasn’t breaking. 

“I left you,” Sam whispered, his eyes darting to Dean’s before falling shut again. 

“Obviously you didn’t,” Dean shook his head as he rummaged through his bag until he found the thermometer. “I’m right here.”

“Didn’t look for you.” Sam’s words slurred but Dean could still easily understand. “let you down.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. Dean wanted to argue and tell Sam he was wrong, that everything was going to be okay, but Dean wasn’t even sure he believed that at the moment. When the thermometer finally beeped, Dean dropped the instrument to the floor and swiftly grabbed the ice bucket from the table.

He ran down the hall and filled the bucket before rushing back to the room. It took him three trips before he turned the water off and returned to Sam’s side. Sam stared at Dean through heavy eyelids, a strange sort of smile on his face. 

“Let’s go, Jack,” Dean chuckled as he pulled Sam up into a seated position before throwing one of his brother’s arms over his own shoulder. For some reason, maybe it was adrenaline, the trip to the tub was much easier than the one to bed even though Sam had lost his fight with consciousness the second Dean lifted him up, becoming dead weight instantly. 

This wasn’t Dean’s first time caring for a feverish Sam, but the last time he had to do something like this, Sam was about two feet shorter and a hundred pounds lighter. He managed though. Dean sat Sam on the side of the tub before pushing his brother back into the ice cold water. 

It only took a few seconds for the water to shock Sam’s system, but to Dean it seemed like ages. When Sam’s eyes suddenly sprung open and he darted straight up, trying to pull himself from the tub, Dean felt like he could breathe for the first time since finding Sam on the floor. He told Sam he would be there for him, in his corner during the fight, but Dean honestly didn’t know how much more he could handle. 

He had no idea what Sam was going through. His brother was fighting an invisible enemy that seemed to be ripping Sam apart from the inside and all Dean could do was watch. There was nothing to punch, nothing to shoot and nothing to kill. But damn if he wouldn’t keep trying.


End file.
